Upgrading or not?
The latest operating system from Microsoft is the Windows Vista and we all think is it worth upgrading to this wonderful new system.
Of course the answer is both Yes and No, depending upon your personal situation. Each persons decision must be correct for your personal situation.
Lets just think about some issues and then decide, then get another opinion before you act.
Firstly is your system stable with its current operating system (XP, 2000, etc). If you are not having any problems its most likely best not to tinker (or upgrade) but if you are having lots of random errors, lockups and blue screens then its time to think about the upgrade option. The age of your computer is also critical; unless your system is less than a year old then Windows Vista may not be so easy. There is a small programme available that will check out your system to see if it can cope with Vista and I suggest that you run this before making any decision on it. If your computer is more than two years old then the upgrade will almost certainly involve changing some of the hardware as well.
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Secondly if you are using programmes that are older, maybe Windows XP or 2000 (even DOS) based, then most likely upgrading will create hassles because they can’t all run in the latest operating system. This applies to any backup data that you have also, many may not be readable in Vista from earlier versions. Even if your operating system is one of the older versions (Windows 2000, 3.11 or 95) then you cannot upgrade but need to buy the complete package. I suggest a minimum hardware requirement for Vista to be about 1.6MHz CPU, with 1GB DDRAM, and 80GB Hard Drive. Obviously more of any of these is better. And be careful because Vista really does consume much more of your memory and processor than XP ever did so even some newer systems are not really up to the mark.
Thirdly what programmes do you want to run from now on? If you want to use some of the latest digital media, music, or even the latest Office software then upgrading is worth looking at. To do this you may have to put something extra into your hardware. Consult with a couple of consultants (not salesmen) before you go ahead with any changes. Programmes that will almost certainly require changing will be your virus checkers, system utilities, and many individual programmes like games.
Windows XP (SP3) has been around for quite a while and if you want some of the advantages of an upgrade but aren’t sure then this is often an excellent alternative. Again while it has some of the benefits of Vista it still has not got them all and so your personal requirements are the key to any choice.
Before making any changes to any computer system do the most important things. Do a complete back up. Once you make major changes it can often be impossible to go back to how it was. Make sure you have all the latest drivers for all of your hardware and updates for any of your software. Get rid of any of the software or hardware that may not be compatible with the upgraded operating system.
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Saving dollars – our local issues. I must also remind people about a couple of previous articles where we warned about modems being damaged by lightening, and computers by power surges and failures. The recent lightening has been a real boost to my sales for modems that have been zapped. The answer for you is either unplug the phone line during this kind of weather or get a UPS. The same applies to the power problems; the UPS is the best answer to the problem. Remember a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) is essentially a battery that your system runs off and it can protect your whole system if it is set up correctly. Although somewhat expensive initially a UPS can pay for itself very quickly. |